Messed!Up
“We’re a band from so many different places, yet here in Manchester, we feel at home.”
Calva Louise wrapped up their victory lap of the UK following a grand tour of the US with co-headliners Vukovi, and it was triumphant indeed. Compared to their last Manchester headline in 2023 at Factory251, The Deaf Institute – a venue favoured by upcoming bands – was certainly an upgrade. But even then, I felt as though we were being treated to something significant and finite – like a bomb, the moment before the explosion. Calva Louise is a name cropping up in more and more alternative circles. With their members’ heritages spanning the globe, they are already set up to unite culturally diverse audiences throughout Europe, but reaching the US is a sign of very exciting things to come.
What a joy, then, to witness them in such an intimate setting.
We interviewed Calva Louise when they last visited Manchester, and I was delighted by their personal stories of making contact with each other as they moved towards the UK, especially with Jess’s vibrance and vitality for music and the culture it brings. Her big grin as her fingers mapped out the constellations of guitar solos and her down-to-earth, meaningful speeches were still present, but it was as though someone had put her confidence through a compressor and funnelled it into creating a more succinct, performative, and professional show. It became quickly evident that Calva Louise had been busy since our last interaction.
To cross off another couple of artists I’d had my eye on for a while, I made sure to catch both supports. Cody Frost opened Manchester’s show with their unique brand of alternative pop – a blend of nu metal, pop, and perhaps grime? Cody flew onto my radar following their feature on Enter: Shikari’s single “Bull”, and their live performance of original tracks was much the same energy, with plenty of bass-heavy backing and chuggy guitar.
Bobby Wolfgang is a name that others may know better as Strange Bones. An iconic member of the alternative scene, Bobby’s hyperactive, overstimulating EDM-slash-punk is a DIY producer’s dream and nightmare. For the sound guy? Probably just a nightmare. Bobby and his two instrumentalists turned up with enough synths to power a spaceship but didn’t shy away from traditional instruments, as a pointy electric guitar filled out the mid-range, and the drummer piloted a Frankenstein half-electric, half-acoustic kit positioned upright, playing each bass drum note by hand. The energy was electric, the show was eccentric, and I thought the roof was going to cave in.
Calva Louise opened to the introduction speech from the band’s DIY animated music video for “Under The Skin“, professing a brief sci-fi story to the audience like the opening to a concept album.
If you know any of the Calva Louise lore, you’ll know about the home-built sliding keyboard stand constructed by bass player and handyman genius Alizon Taho. To everyone’s approval, it made a return. His latest design; a neon strip depicting their logo in foreboding red, silhouetting them from the back wall.
Like a perfect crossover between the Halo game soundtrack and Muse’s The 2nd Law, the band tore through tracks from their latest record, Over The Threshold. Jess’s nail-biting solos were tastefully fewer than when we saw them last, traded for breakdowns, riffs, and screamy choruses. Truly, the show was all about energy and togetherness. I shed my fear of losing my glasses and joined the pit for Opportunista.
When I hear those old metal dudes saying music “ain’t like it used to be,” I know they haven’t heard Calva Louise, because this band has the attitude to f***ing rock, and they do absolutely everything on their own terms. No bullshit.
On a more personal note, these small-to-middle-sized shows are my favourite to go to. I love being in a room with talented individuals who have honed their craft and are ready to take on the world. Like static before a lightning strike, you can tell when a band is about to break. It comes when they lock into the thing that makes them unique – their defining feature, which is essential for standing out in today’s saturated and underfunded industry. Calva Louise, Bobby Wolfgang and Cody Frost are three of the UK’s alternative Avengers, on the cusp of redefining the genre, ultimately keeping it alive and viable. These shows are brimming with potential, and it’s always a pleasure to see the best do what they do best.
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Photos: Courtney Turner
